Arcane Background (Force)

At the start of a force user’s career, she chooses light or dark side as the source of her power. From that point on, she must maintain discipline to remain true to his or her path. But there is always temptation.

Dark Side/Light Side points
Light side force users must track dark side points, and dark side users must track light side points.

Opposing points represent an amount of the character’s power that is coming from the opposite side of the force.

Temptation
When a force user rolls a 1 on her Force skill die (regardless of his wild die), she is tempted by the light/dark side of the force (opposite of what she uses). The character is shaken, struggling with the temptation of the other side of the force.

While the character remains shaken, other force users in the area can attempt to influence the outcome of the character’s attempt to resist that temptation by spending their action to make a force skill check and adding or subtracting 1 for each success and raise on their force skill check.

When the character recovers from being shaken, she makes a Spirit check as a free action to resist the influence of the other side of the force, with those modifiers included — as well as others (see the table below).

Dabbling modifiers
If a character has been using powers in this session that are normally associated with the other side of the force — dark side for light side users, light side for dark side users, they make this check with a -2.

Modifiers to Resist gaining Light/Dark side points and Atonement Checks
Current Light/Dark side points – 1 per point
Dabbling in the other side -2
Influence of others + or – 1 per success and raise on the check
Location +2 if the location is strong with the supporting side of the force
-2 if the location is strong with the opposing side of the force

Atonement
Force users must put effort in to trying to recover from the accumulation of opposing side force points. This requires acts that support the appropriate side of the force, and then 8 hours of meditation, study, or other appropriate activity

Light side users usually must perform good deeds, serve their communities, or otherwise demonstrate the values of the light side, and then must mediate for 8 hours and make a Spirit roll to remove one dark side point from their total.

Dark side users usually must perform evil deeds, subjugate or punish others, or in other ways demonstrate the values of the dark side. Then they must spend 8 hours carousing or planning or brooding, and then make a Spirit roll to remove one light side point from their total.

Modifiers for the influence of others, locations, and accumulated dark/light side points apply to this check as well.

Atonement and Locations
Some locations are strong with either the light or dark side of the force. These locations can make it easier or harder to atone. A location that is strong with the light side of the force adds 2 to rolls to get rid of dark side points, and it subtracts two from rolls to get rid of dark side points.

Atonement with Mentors
A force user who is trying to atone can do so with the help (or influence) of another force user. When the force user makes a check, the mentor can also make a check using his or her force skill. For every success and raise, the mentor can influence that check. The mentor must spend the entire time meditating/brooding with the subject to influence the check

Transition:
When a force user reaches a point where he or she has a majority of opposing side points, he or she tips over to the other side of the force. This represents a major character change for the character, and the character immediately becomes a force user of the other type, with no accumulated dark or light side points

In most cases, characters who go through this transition flee the scene and get themselves away from their former companions. If there was an opposing force users there who influenced the character’s check, the character might switch sides and join forces with the influencer.

Example: Ricon the Jedi is in the midst of a pitched battle. As an apprentice, he has 10 power points, and has accumulated 5 dark side points that he has not been able to atone for. In a battle with a Sith, he rolls another 1 on his force skill die. When he recovers from being shaken, he makes his spirit roll to resist the new dark side point. Because he’s already so heavily under the influence of the dark side, he has a penalty to his check equal to his dark side point total of 5. With that -5 on his check, he needs a 9 to resist the new dark side point. Ricon fails the check, and earns a 6th dark side point.

This tips the balance for Ricon — he now has more that 50 % dark side points, so he has become a dark side user. This rebuilds his personality around the dark side of the force, making him a dark side user, and he has no accumulated light side points.